Three's a Crowd

[Guest]

Amestrian markets never had the same style and flavour of an Ishvallan bazaar. They were rarer to come across than not, nowadays most markets were all indoors with endless shelves and long lines. South was still being built up, there weren't any big chain grocery stores dominating the scene, so here, in the center of a young and slowly growing South City, Aishe Al-shua found a lively open air market.

She casually strode through the busy streets, weaving in and out of crowds towards a small vendor's stand out on the side of the main stalls. The sleepy looking man leaning on the cart's counter spotted the approaching Ishvallan woman and perked up immediately. "Hello Miss! Would you like some treats? We sell everything from cotton candy to homemade cheesecake. What would you like?" The man rambled off, beginning with his poor attempt to speak basic Ishvallan in his thick, guttural accent, before switching to Amestrian. Aishe gave him a slight smiled, her crimson eyes glowing with light-hearted amusement at the man for his honest attempt at appealing to her. "Hmmm, tell ya what, I'll haaaaave-" hummed Aishe, hovering in mid-sentences as she browsed the stall's deserts on display, looking over all the colourful and cream textured sugary concoctions. The cheesecake looked especially good. Nothing like homemade cheesecake. Too bad it was always so damn expensive, her wallet would miss the money. Oh screw it, it was her day out to relax anyway. "Two pieces of cheesecake please, the strawberry ones"

"Ah, fine choice. My wife made 'em. My personal favourite"




The Evening was beginning to set in on the town, the sun was fading and the city lights were flickering on one by one as homes and streets lit up and the people continued with their day. It wasn't all that late, it was only around five or six, but winter was stingy with daytime. Not the funnest season at all. Winters in the south were cool though, a mild and comfortable temperature. Beats being stuck up in North. Poor people must be frozen solid by now. How'd they ever manage around there?

Away from the market an down the street she went, blissfully looking forward to a night at the bar. Drinks and cheesecake. Who could ask for a better combination? She spotted the bar, a relatively new looking joint, probably finished only recently. It appeared to have quite a few people lingering outside, mostly the construction workers that worked on building up the city. To nobody's surprise, the inside of the place was filled with loads of people, drowning themselves in liquor, all in high spirits. Hell, you wouldn't have ever guessed that this was in a country that had lost two wars in a row and had its buildings blown to hell. South truly was Amestris's last sanctuary. Funny, considering it was the city that ominously vanished only a bit over a year ago.

The short haired Isvhallan, with her jacket all buttoned up, hardly drew any attention to herself despite all the rowdy men hanging around. Not drawing attention to yourself was a subtle art, and a good one for when flirting wasn't on your list of things to do. She was here for the drinks, last thing she needed was a man who smelt like beer breathing down her neck.

"A bloody mary, as red as my eyes" said she, as she sat down on an empty bar stool and made herself comfortable, propping her head up with her hand, elbow on the counter.

[Spade Aeries]

He didn't want to go 'home'. Whatever the fuck home was. He wanted to stay at Shula's place forever--just move in and bask around in her company. He knew he had to go back. It was his job--his life. He also had left Alisa in North City. He had to go and get her. He also had to get a new apartment. There was so much he had to do and so much he didn't want to do. Why couldn't he just stay with Shu? Why not goddammit?! Why. Not. Fuck life. He hated his choices, but... he was tainted; anyone he touched suffered. Look how much she was suffering already...because of him. He wondered how much hell he would put Alisa through... He was better off alone, breaking hearts to mend his own only to save their lives in the end. He had to enjoy himself to keep going. That was one thing he was so very aware of... If he had ever stopped loving life, certainly he would have killed himself by now. Relationships weren't his thing. He was all around bad at it. Hell, his last girlfriend he had shot. His best friend he kicked off a ferris wheel. His drinking partner vanished. His close friend was killed at war. His other friend, after nearly dying, was now in a coma. He was walking death. Anything that got close enough to him ended up as god's fucking toast. Spade kicked a trash can over, pocketing his hands and grumbling under his breath. He didn't belong anywhere near people. Maybe that was why he was so damn lucky at the slots.

What was this? He raised his head from the ground, squinting through a flashy new pair of shades at the commotion happening on the street around him. South City was fucking booming. What was this? He found his mouth gaping open slightly, taking in the sights as if it was something foreign to see smiles on people's faces. No, the world wasn't ending yet. Maybe...maybe Amestris could bounce back. Were...were they not doomed? There was hope yet... WAIT A SECOND. HE WASN'T IN CENTRAL ANYMORE. THAT MEANT...THERE WAS BOOZE!!!!!!! HOLYFUCKINGSHIT. He dive-bombed straight into the nearest pub that was all a fit of glowing neon signs and happy, drunk people. "Ahh I want to be drunk tooo~" Spade swooned, yanking out his packed wallet and spreading the love. Fat glass of beer, here he came! It took but two seconds of his time to receive the gold that flowed so effortlessly down his throat as if it had been wanting all its creation for the moment of being ingested by Spade Aeries. A couple people asked if he was in fact Spade. Being famous wasn't really a bad thing, but...he just wanted to be alone tonight. His clothes still smelled like Shula. His beer was empty. "Another." It filled up like magic. No longer sober, Spade felt like himself for the first time in a very long time.

Then he saw it, white hair that wasn't Shu's. It was an Ishvallan that wasn't Shu. But she reminded him of Shu. Still, his Ishvallan was Shu. And she wasn't Shu. But... he found himself breathing down her neck, crossing around the table to flop into a chair across from her. It was then and only then that he saw something--something he recognized. His mouth fell open and he was silent, all the pretty words dripping out of his mind like candle wax. Shit. No way. Unbelievable. It was impossible. FUCK. He stood back up, leaning through the distance between them until their noses nearly touched. His cologne wafted off him, mixing with cigarette smoke and the sweet, fizzy beer. This was Spade Aeries--one of the most famous men in Amestris. He could sing too--as all manly men should. Curls of brown hair wrapped around his neck like a vice, suffocating him and anything that he wanted to say. Inching away, his hand went for her chest and yanked up an amulet into the dim lighting of a single, yellow-hued lamp. "This. Where did you get this?"

[Guest]

Oh hey, remember that thing that I was hoping that wouldn't happen tonight? Yeah, so much for that thought Aishe in annoyance. Here she was, just trying to enjoy a damn drink when along comes mister shitfaced here, plopping himself down in front of her like he knew her for years! Ha! What a "player" this guy was, with his outfit he probably spent hours planning out along with his over-expensive sunglasses, probably imported from La Ciliegia, and a thirty dollar haircut. He smelled of beer and perfume. No, not cologne, she didn't care if guys tried to justify it by calling it another name, it was still perfume, and it was chocking her breathing space. Just another sleeze-bag barhopper looking for a quick lay for the night. Heh, well she'd entertain him alright, the usual routine would do nicely. Playing "hard to get" was fun, especially when the idiot chasing your tail was never going to get you in the first place. If she was lucky, maybe she'd wait out the endless flirtation long enough for the alcohol to finally reduce him to the pitiful, drunken, over compensating, lonely fuck he was. Or maybe he'd give up. Either way, it'd make her night better. Wait, whoa whoa whoa, this guy was waaaaay too close. He must have been drinking more than his weight in beer tonight if his sense of personal space was this bad. It was pretty creepy, this random stranger leaning in and staring at her with some extremely serious intent. Geez, was getting in someone's pants a freaking mission for this guy?

"Whoa whoa, lay off man, or I'll break your n- Hey!" exclaimed Aishe, as she was interrupted mid-sentence by the man reaching for her chest. Holy shit, already? Man, this guy certainly was brazen, to say the least, looks like she wouldn't even get the chance to say no. Straight to the hand breaking already? Ah well.

Yet, the anticipated group never came, and instead, he lifted glimmering golden medallion into the dim lighting of the bar lamp. Ah, her mother's medallion! What the hell was this guy getting at?

"This. Where did you get this?" questioned the gold groping dipsomaniac with an odd look in his eyes. Okay, either his pick up lines were terrible, or he just really liked shiny things. This guy was getting weirder by the second. Wait, he just spoke Ishvallan. That was.....this guy was.....something else. At this point, she wasn't sure to think of him.

"Okay, hold up for a sec there. First of all, people usually say hi and introduce themselves before just sittin' down and man-handling there stuff. Secondly, usually, if you want to take someone's things, you have to do it when they aren't looking." retorted Aishe with a flare of smug attitude. She wasn't actually being harsh with the man, though she should have been, considering his apparent lack of social skills and sense of personal space. She supposed she just found him.....amusing. "Anyway" she continued, "This is my mother's. Well, know, I guess it originally belonged to my dirt bag of a dad, may he choke on his own shit, wherever he is. I'd gladly sell it to ya if it wasn't for the fact that its all I have left of my mom. Dunno why she valued something from that bastard so much, but I can't just throw it away..."

[Spade Aeries]

She looked like she was going to bite his face off. But he needed his face... Frowning, Spade let the necklace go and crawled back to a safe, normal distance in his chair. This chick had way too many guidelines. Jesus, she def wasn't Shu. Although she kind of resembled her...and kind of...kind of... "This is my mother's. Well, no, I guess it originally belonged to my dirt bag of a dad, may he choke on his own shit, wherever he is. I'd gladly sell it to ya if it wasn't for the fact that its all I have left of my mom. Dunno why she valued something from that bastard so much, but I can't just throw it away..." ...looked like his father. Spade slammed his hands on the table and stood up, walking around it until he successfully had her wrist lodged in his manly, Spade-grip. It couldn't be. It couldn't fucking be. That shit was impossible. And fate was a bitch so why was this happening right now? Jade eyes beheld her in stillness as he dragged her to the door and stopped just as he pushed it open into the southern air. "I know your father." But did he? ...Did he really? Was this maybe just a mistake? She could be lying. He hadn't even considered that. She was probably just as damn confused as he was. But if he was right--if Spade had some inkling of correctness in his mild assumption, then...this girl right here would be his half-sister.

HOLYFUCKINGSHITWHAT?! Spade Aeries with a HALF sister? The illegitimate daughter of the Xingese emperor... If that got out, oh, that would be fun. It wasn't like it fucking mattered. His father was-- That was important information to share, considering the way in which this Ishvallan girl came into the world, and well, the fact that she wanted him to...choke on his own shit. Dude man...that was just wrong. To wish that on anyone sort of hurt his existence a little bit. GROSS. He licked the backs of his teeth and grimaced. "My name is Sakuya Aeries..." Let's see if that meant anything to her. Maybe she didn't know that that was a Xingese heirloom or that her father had been the emperor of Xing. Maybe her story was bullshit that she thieved off another Ishvallan girl... Still, that necklace was broadly glimmering around her neck, and that necklace Spade had seen in many pictures of his forsaken father. It looked terrible on him--terrible on any man because it was fucking jewelry. It always had pissed Spade off when he was younger seeing that shit around his father's neck. It was just wrong. What constituted that behavoir of an emperor!? Anyway, at least a girl was wearing it this time. He adjusted his sunglasses on the top of his head and stepped out from the bar, almost regretting it...almost. Some things were more important than getting drunk off your rocker. No matter how damn depressed this man was, if...if she was his half-sister, well, fuck what was she doing in a bar?! He spun around, deep crevices of green fire alight with intelligence.

"Listen here, you may know the name Spade Aeries and you may not out of ignorance; however, if what you just told me is true, then my father is also your father." He lowered his voice, speaking through a veil of sun-bleached brown hair, "So tell me, are you the illegitimate child of the previous Xingese emperor?"

[Guest]

With sudden abruptness and complete disregard for the fact that she was currently speaking, the curious drunkard slammed his hands against the table, surprising the young Ishvallan woman to a mild extent. Before she knew it, he had manuevered around the table and took a tight hold of her wrist before she could kick him in the crotch for grabbing her wrist all of the sudden. Seriously! The nads on this guy! This cat was beyond odd, the alcohol must have clogged his freakin' brain. She hardly had a chance to protest (and by protest, she meant cuss him out like there was no fuckin' tomorrow) as he dragged her towards the door like a man with a mission.

"Hey now, wha-".....she was cut off. This time, not by his actions, but his eyes. Determined beacons of glistening jade, they hardly seemed like the eyes of a pervert who had drunken himself to a complete stupor. No, she beheld sincerity in that bound stare of his. It rendered he speechless, only able to inhale the cool night air of a southern winter.

"I know your father."

Aishe was dumbstruck. She understood the words he said, yet, it was as if she could not make sense of them. "You..you what?" she blurted, stupidly, slipping back into Amestrian. What was this man going on about? He was a complete lunatic! Or at least, that's what she might have though, might it have been some other lout who didn't resonate with such sincerity that it subdued her irritation. "My name is Sakuya Aeries..."

Sakuya....Aeries? Aeries...Aeries...the Aeries? From Central? She heard of him before. He was the commander of Central HQ. Not that she cared about who was the commander of what when it came to the military, but he had a reputation, especially in East, her hometown. That cat burnt down a freakin' strip joint. She always thought he was a character, nothing you'd think a commander would be like. She hadn't recognized him before but now...that purposefully messy brown hair, that jazzed out look. Oh damn, it was him, it was Spade. She knew him! He always seemed like a much cooler cat in the stories. Well, he was at least as handsome as they said, not that it would win any points with her. The hell was he doing her in south, bugging her? Aishe's crimson eyes followed him thoughtfully as he stepped out the door. It looked like he was finally calming down. Hopefully he wouldn't be getting uncomfortably close anymore. The night air that drifted in from the outside was soothing too. It was stuffy in that bar, with all the people in the heating. She started to feel calmer too...

"Listen here, you may know the name Spade Aeries and you may not out of ignorance; however, if what you just told me is true, then my father is also your father.". Wait....what? Same father? Her father? His father? Where was he getting off on this? Just when she thought that things were looking sane again, he freakin' lost her. "So tell me, are you the illegitimate child of the previous Xingese emperor?"

Aishe sighed as she stepped outside with the man and leaned casually against the cool brick wall, folding her arms and looking upon her conversational partner with a lost and defeated expression. "Look man, you're scatting a lot of jive, I have no idea what you're talking about. I have no idea who my father was, other than A xingese cat with a gang of friends who got a kick out of hunting Ishvallans like animals. Whats all this about the Emperor of Xing? You mean to say that I'm some sorta princess, you're a prince, and we're long lost siblings? This is honestly the strangest story any drunk guy has ever told me" she ended with a light chuckle, a bit humoured by this confusion. As sincere as he seemed...he must have been terribly drunk and confused......he had to be.....

[Spade Aeries]

"This is honestly the strangest story any drunk guy has ever told me." ...Drunk? Him? Drunk!? Spade Aeries? DRUNK!? WHAT?! What. ...the fuck? He must have had the most baffled expression on his face in the history of mankind right now. What she was saying--what she had just said defiled his very existence. One beer. He had one beer. ONE FUCKING BEER. Is that comprehensible: the number one? You know, meaning like if he were to be singing the 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall song, he would be left with 98 more. NINETY-EIGHT. That's a high number, meaning that the ONE singular, sole, solitary, lone beer that he had in fact consumed was a very low count. No one could fucking get drunk off of one beer. Unless maybe the size of the glass was like six feet tall or some shit. COME ON NOW LADY. WHAT THE FUCK!? Well, then again she had just met him, and he highly doubted she had been paying much attention to her surroundings beforehand. But SERIOUSLY. Did he LOOK drunk? NO. NO HE DIDN'T. He just fucking got here: a bar, FINALLY. Did she maybe not connect the fucking dots? Spade Aeries = Central, Central = Destroyed, Destroyed = No Bars, No Bars = No Alcohol, No Alcohol = No Drunkage. SIMPLE MATH THERE. Why...did she think he was here? To entertain her--to hit on her? NO THANK YOU. JESUSFUCKINGCHRIST. He took a deep breath, all of the above inner dialogue happening in about .5 milliseconds.

"No. I'm not drunk. Are you fucking listening? Stop acting like a spoiled brat and wise up. Not all the people in the world are fucking deranged dipshits. Princess? Prince? Come the fuck on; I'm too old to play games like this. And a story...? This is news to me. Trust me. I wouldn't waste my time."

Angrily, he buried his hand in his pocket and yanked out a lighter he got for cheap at a dollar store, trying to strike a flame. Click...click... Nothing. Fucking cheap piece of shit!! He went to throw it and stopped himself, chewing on the bent cigarette as if it were his life source rather than that which practically drained his life. He was still sober too. How long had it been?! TOO FUCKING LONG. Yeah, I'm not drunk, but I sure as hell wish I was. It was making him irritable. Shit, I really am an alcoholic...wonder if Shu likes alcoholics... NO! Wrong thought process. He tucked that away for later--something to keep him up at all hours of the night. Sleep? Who needed sleep, it was overrated. What he needed now was fucking nicotine and another beer.

"You could at least introduce yourself, seriously."

[Guest]

"No. I'm not drunk. Are you fucking listening? Stop acting like a spoiled brat and wise up. Not all the people in the world are fucking deranged dipshits. Princess? Prince? Come the fuck on; I'm too old to play games like this. And a story...? This is news to me. Trust me. I wouldn't waste my time."

"Whoa man, I'm sorry, don't flip your lid man!" replied she, half raising her hands in front of her in a gesture that admitted to backing down from any serious confrontation.

Touchy wasn't he? What the hell did he expect? His story was ridiculous, no sane person would believe that, no more than those emails claiming to be from the last surviving member of the Rouenian royal family whom desperately needed your credit card number to pay for his trip back to Versailles so he could give you all his riches. Gah, well he was far off the handle now. How to handle this? Aishe ran her fingers through her short, snow-white hair while Spade fumbled with his lighter and practically ate his cigarette. He looked like he was about to curb stomp someone, maybe his lighter, seeing as he nearly chucked it at the pavement. Aishe sighed, rubbing her temple lightly. All she really wanted was a break, a short trip to South, and a drink. And now....this.

"You could at least introduce yourself, seriously."

"Look, I'm sorry man. I guess we're both feeling a bit down, its all the stress ya know? I mean, your in charge of Central HQ and all that jazz, I guess things have been pretty lame lately. Let's start over here. Hi, I'm Aishe. Aishe Al-shua. Oh, hold on a minute-"

She dug both her hands into her jacket's pockets and then pulled a small, square metal lighter from the left one. She glanced over it real quick, admiring the polished silver coloured finishes and the flowing, delicately carved strokes of Ishvallan letters inscribed on the side. Her brother's lighter. Well not her biological brother's, her adopted brother. The guy in front of her was supposedly her real brother, if his claim was true, though she still found that hard to believe. She had been raised in an Ishvallan family with Ishvallan parents and Ishvallan siblings who all worshiped Ishvala and lived in an Ishvallan district in the Ishvallan community in East. Sometimes she forgot she was half Xingese. Sometimes she preferred to not remember that she was Xingese. But still- it wasn't impossible, the whole Emperor story seemed really far out there, but she had to have Xingese family out there somewhere, so why not right in front of her?

"Oh, sorry, I was, uh, reminiscing" said she, suddenly realizing how long she had been staring at the silver lighter in her hand. She handed it to Spade, smiling sociably.

"Here"

[Spade Aeries]

"Whoa man, I'm sorry, don't flip your lid man!" Okay...now they were getting somewhere. If the chick finally realizes she's wronging you, that's when you're finally fucking getting through. She was listening now; listening was a good thing...especially since Spade seemed to have fucking found his long-lost baby sister. There just was no fucking way. He sighed out, ravaging his hair with a hand and watching some dust fly out. He then parted his hair right (or what was considered right to a man getting over complete ridicule) and threw the longer angled pieces back behind his shoulders. Okay. He was good. Episode over. She apologized and that was acceptable, right? Yeah, she didn't know him. Plus, everyone in Amestris practically assumed he was drunk most of the time because, well...he fucking was. BUT HE WASN'T NOW, DAMMIT. So he was justified, right? Right. He was always justified. Spade didn't jump to conclusions or anything. He was effing good at reading people and this chick was def radiating bitchiness. She was distrustful and her apology felt kind of empty. She seemed more like she didn't want him to hurt her or something than sorry. Maybe it wasn't acceptable. And he wasn't flipping his lid. Come on. Did she want to see him flip his lid? He gave a normal reaction that any sober man would give when accused of being drunk. Spade was completely serious. That medallion around her neck was his father's. She was Ishvallan. His father raped an Ishvallan (and Spade only found that out when he and his father hit a bar together in Creta on his twenty-first birthday). Uhm, it could very well be that Spade was absolutely right. In that case, he'd so teach her a lesson for manners.

"Look, I'm sorry man." Holy shit. Did she...she did! She definitely just apologized again. Maybe that meant that she really did mean it? That could...very well be. Spade cracked a crooked smile and gnawed on his cigarette some more. Okay, then, go on... "I guess we're both feeling a bit down, its all the stress ya know?" Not really, but continue... "I mean, your in charge of Central HQ and all that jazz, I guess things have been pretty lame lately. Let's start over here. Hi, I'm Aishe. Aishe Al-shua. Oh, hold on a minute-" ...WHAT. WHAT!? WHAT. "and all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazzand all that jazz" That was his fucking line. He had that shit copyrighted!!! Well, not really. ...maybe they were siblings... Okay so she started over... FUCK YEAH IT'S JAZZ. Only Spade could do shit and all that jazz. D< He managed a nod as he listened further and caught her name on his sleeve. Aishe. Her name was Aishe Adlbjshaa. Got it. Hold on?

"It's cool...Aishe." Spade eyed up the lighter like a ravenous beast, wondering upon hope that that was what he was holding on for. NICOTINEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And he needed to practice using her name so he wouldn't just forget it like all the ones before her. Aishe Adlbjsdaa.

"Here." PRAISE JESU--ISHVALA!!! He took the lighter carefully, not bothering to look at it until way after he was puffing like a smoke stack on the cancer stick. Ah look, writing that he couldn't read. Bee tee doubz, he could speak it, but he sure as hell couldn't read it.

"So...you believe me?" He handed back the lighter like it was a godsend.

[Guest]

Aishe smiled in mild amusement as Spade lit his cigarette and puffed it like his very life depended on the life shortening stick of tobacco and who knows what else.

"So...you believe me?" said he, as he finally handed back that silver lighter, which he had taken a short dismissive glance over. "Dunno. Can't really say, to be completely honest with you" replied Aishe as she pocketed the argent keepsake. "I mean....well, my mother used to say that you can't dismiss anything, that Ishvala works in ways we don't always understand or believe. I can't really say I'm as compliant with the unexplained, as she was." she continued tepidly. Her slang and slurred words had noticeably diminished, as she grew to be more earnest in the face of Spade's frustrated sincerity. She hardly believed in her mother's reasoning though, that everything happened on the whim of some immortal being. What sort of patron god would let his people nearly get wiped off the earth anyway? But that was a thought for another time. "But, I won't brush the possibility off, I'm just a little skeptical, is all."

Aishe shuffled about, glancing down at her black leather boots in thought,wondering how to solve this peculiar predicament. She could just accept what he says as the truth, everyone feels better, no harm done. But then....she would never actually know. Accepting something in such a half-assed manner would be just as bad as lying, and the curious matter of whether her supposed brother's claims were true would never be solved. It was obvious that he felt so sure about this, and it wasn't like he had anything to gain from this. It didn't seem like he was after the medallion she had. Its not like it would break her heart to lose it anyway.

"Oh hey," Aishe spoke up, a simple idea bubbling up from her drifting thoughts, "We could always just take a DNA test, if you want, you know, to see if the results match. I mean, no offense, but I won't feel too assured about this whole thing on your word alone. I don't really know you after all. Whaddya say? Maybe we could hang out for a bit too, have some sibling bonding time." She uttered the last sentence in half-jest, mostly due to the ridiculous notion of "sibling bonding" with someone she had met not five minutes ago.

[Spade Aeries]

"Dunno. Can't really say, to be completely honest with you. I mean....well, my mother used to say that you can't dismiss anything, that Ishvala works in ways we don't always understand or believe. I can't really say I'm as compliant with the unexplained, as she was." That was a complicated answer. Spade found himself nodding as he finished off the cigarette in nearly half a second. He didn't pull out another or ask for the lighter back. In fact, he took out the pack and threw it in the trashcan, glaring feebly at it. NO. BAD SPADE. He sighed. Yeah, he was trying to stop the addiction, which was more than driving him INSANE. But...but it was for Shu. She didn't know--didn't need to know it, but he really wanted to go back to her sober, not half sober, and definitely not drunk...like he always was. He wanted to show her his true self...however perceptive and scary he was. "But, I won't brush the possibility off, I'm just a little skeptical, is all."

"Oh yeah, well, I mean that's totally acceptable." He curled a piece of hair around a thick digit in thought. "Like...really? You probably should have smacked me and walked out long before you decided to hear me out...what with my reputation and all. But...I'm trying to get better." Better?! WHAT THE FUCK AERIES!? REMEDY THAT RIGHT NOW. "Shit, I mean, I'm just trying to come clear for someone." Ugh...he wanted to die. SOMEONE KILL HIM NOW. No, wait, don't. But now that he really looked at her... not only did she use his catchphrases, but she also really had a Xingese look to her. Was...was that his father's nose?! Ahhhh!?!? He tilted his head to the side as he began to study her, absentmindedly thinking...Damn, I'm really sobering up after ten years...

"Oh hey." The act of scrutinizing came to an abrupt halt, slamming headfirst into a brick wall full-force. Ouch. He straightened up and looked at her inquiring. Hmm yes, yes, what is it? ...Oh yes! Genius! He nodded, placing a hand on his invisible beard.

"Yeah, yeah same here. Let's go. Right now!" WAITPAUSE. Spade was mid-step before he turned around and stared at her. Sibling...bonding time? A half-sister. If this was true... "Hey Shu, by the way I have a sister!" ... "Ace, buddy, didja know we had a half-sister?!" Oh damn it all to hell, this would either suck or be totally entertaining. "I'd like that." A sister?!! God help them both...but him more.

[EXIT THREAD]

[Guest]

"Oh yeah, well, I mean that's totally acceptable. Like...really? You probably should have smacked me and walked out long before you decided to hear me out...what with my reputation and all. But...I'm trying to get better. Shit, I mean, I'm just trying to come clear for someone."

Aishe smiled in her amused, blithe manner as the man ranted on as if he was trying to see just how many times he could humanly correct himself without looking like he had completely lost his rationale. This man here was perhaps the most intoxicated sober man she had ever met, as if alcohol just flowed through his veins and insanity drove his thoughts. Ah, but that made him that much more interesting, yeah?

Aishe noticed that the sporadically inclined so-called brother of hers seemed to have pause to take a another gander at her, as if he were trying to figure something out....or as if she had something on her face. Did she have something on her face? She nearly lifted a smooth brown hand to her cheek as if to wipe away some unseen filth, but stopped herself in the realization that she would look quite stupid, rubbing her face with a confused and vacant stare.

Finally, much to her relief, Spade spoke up.
"Yeah, yeah same here. Let's go. Right now!"
Ah, that was more like it. Time to get a move on. The night was young and there was still a whole scene on South City to blow, and who better to chill with than a character who claimed to be her brother.

Suddenly, much to Aishe's surprise, the ever so whimsical man stopped in his tracks and spun around to gawk at her again. What was it this time? The Ishvallan woman tried her best not to stare back with a half-bashful, dumbstruck look, but it wasn't work. Geez, this cat could be awkward on a random note.
"Uh-" she began, in a half-assed, half-lost attempt to break the silent stare; though she only opened her mouth to find herself at a lost for words.
"I'd like that."
That was it? Man, was a strange guy. It seemed like it would take some getting used to him; there was no telling just what he'd be like. Still, an older brother to follow around, eh? Guess it was sorta like old times....

[Exit Thread]

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